The Financial Diaries: How American Families Cope in a World of Uncertainty by Jonathan Morduch & Rachel Schneider

Author:Jonathan Morduch & Rachel Schneider
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 2017-02-20T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6

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Tahmid and Abida

Ten to twelve hours a day, at least six days a week, Tahmid Khan stands on a crowded sidewalk in midtown Manhattan, selling fruit. He is one of New York City’s roughly ten thousand street vendors. In the morning, coffee and donut sellers crowd the sidewalks, giving way by midday to those hawking hot dogs, pretzels, falafel, and other lunch food. Many food carts have loyal followers, who count on the sellers’ presence on the same corner every day and, for a few, track their whereabouts on Twitter. Yet the details of these vendors’ lives generally escape the focus of busy pedestrians.

Tahmid sets up his fruit stand before the morning rush hour, piling up apples, bananas, and other merchandise. He closes down in the evening, when the crowds have thinned. The fruit stand’s owner pays Tahmid $50 to $100 a day, depending on business. He earns the most in summer, when fresh fruit is a big draw. Winters are slow. In a good month, he can make almost $3,000. In a bad month he might not even crack $1,000. Including his tax refund, in the year of our study, he earned just under $30,000.

Tahmid’s wife, Abida, worries about his health. He is outside, all day, on his feet and works even when he feels ill. A doctor’s visit is out of the question; he never wants to miss work. Abida worries, too, that he doesn’t have enough time for friends, activities at the local Muslim Center, and, most important, their son, Faiz.

Tahmid and Abida Khan graduated from college and held white-collar jobs in Bangladesh. But when they arrived in the United States a few years before our study, this was the job Tahmid was able to find. Abida stays home to raise their child. “How long are you going to do this work?” Abida asks him. She wishes he would find a different job.

New York City’s street vendors account for nearly $200 million in annual wages and contribute almost $300 million annually to the local economy.1 Meanwhile, they’re subject to a thicket of city regulations that dictate how and where they can work. Tahmid’s table, for example, can be no larger than ten feet by five feet. He cannot keep items under the table or next to it. The table must be at least twenty feet away from the nearest building entrance, be eighteen inches from the curb, and provide twelve feet in clearance for pedestrians. Vending is only allowed on certain streets. Vendors must display their license and permit at all times.2 While it’s relatively easy to get a street vendor license to sell food in the city, food vendors also need permits from the Department of Health. And those are limited to about five thousand citywide, including just one thousand for fruit and vegetable vendors like Tahmid.3 Therefore, many vendors either work without permits, risking penalties, or, like Tahmid, work for someone who already has one.

Breaking any of the rules can lead to steep fines, up to $1,000 per violation.

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